Tenfold Grace, Hundredfold Grudge
When the Spear Demon vomited blood and died, Tang Hong rushed over to Tang Myung.
“Never do that again.”
“Of course not. I know full well how dangerous such actions are.”
As he spoke, Tang Myung flicked his wrist. The silver threads raced back and coiled neatly into the Silver Dragon of the Heavens.
Watching the display, Tang Hong asked.
“Did you spread the silver dragon across the ground beforehand?”
“The Spear Demon was a Peak expert skilled in chaotic melee, so he countered hidden weapons effectively. That meant I needed a sudden strike. I released the silver dragon early and laid it across the floor.”
While speaking, Tang Myung ran his hand along the Silver Dragon of the Heavens. The moment the Spear Demon stepped into range, he had poured internal energy through the threads and detonated the earth beneath him.
Tang Myung turned to survey the battlefield. Of the thirty demonic heads who had invaded the Tang Family, only about ten still lived.
The real problem was that every last one of them was a supreme Peak expert. Before their overwhelming power, Tang Family warriors were coughing blood and collapsing.
The only ones holding the line were the five unit leaders. Everyone else fought in coordinated groups of four or five.
“We need to form a fire net… but there’s no room to establish one.”
At Tang Myung’s quiet murmur, Tang Hong nodded.
“They fear our family’s hidden weapons, so they refuse to yield any distance.”
The demonic heads had forced a chaotic melee, turning the fight into scattered individual brawls. In such disorder, the Tang Family experts could not freely deploy their hidden weapons. They risked striking their own allies.
Moreover, these foes possessed the skill to endure encirclement attacks even in the middle of a free-for-all.
That was why they had deliberately dragged the battle into this chaos.
Tang Myung glanced toward Tang Mi-ryeong.
She was locked in combat with the bald elder.
Aunt’s one-on-one duels put us at a disadvantage. In that case…
Tang Myung turned and singled out one of the nearby Visa Unit warriors.
“Uncle Tang Cheon-gi.”
“By your command.”
“Can you intercept the opponent fighting Unit Leader Mi-ryeong?”
Tang Cheon-gi served as vice-leader of the Visa Unit and was himself a Peak expert.
“If I leave, the Family Head’s protection will…”
The Tang Family already lacked Peak-level fighters. If the demonic heads turned their full attention toward Tang Myung, guarding him would become nearly impossible.
“If you obey my command, I will also exert every effort to survive.”
At those words, Tang Cheon-gi cupped his fist.
“I shall carry it out with my life on the line.”
He loosened his outer robe and let it fall. A warrior from the Visa Unit immediately offered a fresh one.
Grasping the new robe, Tang Cheon-gi launched himself toward Tang Mi-ryeong’s position.
Swish!
The moment he joined the fray, Tang Mi-ryeong’s face lit with relief. She unleashed a storm of hidden weapons.
Papapap!
“Hahaha! Tang Family dogs, sneaky tricks really do suit you best!”
Tang Mi-ryeong ignored the bald elder’s taunt and poured every ounce of focus into her assault.
The Family Head has an order.
Tang Mi-ryeong’s gaze flicked briefly toward Tang Myung.
Please retreat and restrain every last enemy from the rear.
Tang Mi-ryeong hesitated for a fraction of a second, then stamped the ground and shot backward while signaling with her hands.
Several Pyeonbok Unit members who had been attacking the demonic heads immediately withdrew from the main battlefield and took up positions at key points around the perimeter. Tang Mi-ryeong stepped on one warrior’s shoulder, used it as a pivot, and began racing across the entire battlefield.
Papapat! Papat!
Using her own unit members’ shoulders as stepping stones, Tang Mi-ryeong soared from place to place. From her hands, hidden weapons continuously flashed like streaks of light.
“What the—?”
“Hidden weapons! It’s the Heavenly Net Fairy’s hidden weapons!”
The atmosphere across the battlefield shifted at once. Tang Mi-ryeong’s skill with projectiles stood at the pinnacle of the Tang Family. Her weapons seemed to possess lives of their own, dancing through the air before striking like lightning.
She continued to bound across the shoulders of her Pyeonbok Unit warriors, traversing every corner of the chaotic battlefield.
Her hidden weapons rescued Tang Family experts on the verge of death. Under her barrage, the demonic heads grew hesitant and defensive.
Any lapse in attention while blocking the ordinary projectiles could mean a lethal one would slip through.
The fact that every weapon carried poison only compounded the threat.
Contrary to the Five Poison Demons’ boasts, the Tang Family’s toxins were poisoning the invaders. The corpses of those who failed to dodge the hidden weapons served as clear proof.
A single hit could cost them their lives. As a result, the demonic heads’ nerves stretched taut to the breaking point.
Yet ironically, because they had grown so cautious, none of them had suffered so much as a scratch despite the furious combat.
“The ground! Watch your footing!”
At one demonic head’s shout, the others swiftly scanned the earth beneath them. Their faces hardened.
Hundreds—thousands—of hidden weapons thrown by the Tang Family experts already lay scattered across the ground in chaotic patterns.
It meant the demonic heads had to mind the ground even while fighting.
One wrong step, one tiny cut, and the poison would claim them.
Does the Tang Family have no limit to their hidden weapons?
Enough to cover the entire ground…
Fear began to creep into the demonic heads. Though they were infamous monsters of the martial world, they were the very ones who had spent years hiding in terror of the Tang Family.
They had come for revenge after hearing that the Tang Family’s elders and Family Head had been annihilated.
Yet the reality they found was nothing like their expectations. It was true the Tang Family lacked Peak experts.
The true problem was that the Tang Family had unleashed their forbidden hidden weapons and poisons. The Five Poison Demons who had sworn the Tang toxins posed no threat had died almost instantly.
Those worthless Five Poison Demons!
Furious that the very men who had told them not to fear the Tang Family’s poison had died first, several demonic heads stamped the ground in rage.
Swish!
They broke away from the battlefield and began to flee.
To them, survival mattered far more than revenge. That was why they had spent their lives in hiding despite possessing Peak-level cultivation.
Moreover, demonic heads felt no obligation to protect one another. The moment one turned to run, the rest followed suit without hesitation.
As the demonic heads abandoned the fight and scattered, the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s face twisted with fury.
“You idiots!”
With a roar, he twisted at the waist.
Papapat!
Golden needles streaked past his flank. The Heavenly Mountain Demon hurled himself sideways to avoid them.
“You cowardly Tang Family bastards!”
Spitting curses, the Heavenly Mountain Demon glared at Tang Song.
Tang Song stood with both hands full of golden needles, staring straight at him.
“You got lucky this time! Next time I’ll definitely kill you!”
At the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s shout, Tang Song replied coldly.
“You are the one without luck. You will not leave this place alive.”
“As if!”
With a bellow, the Heavenly Mountain Demon swung his blade with ferocious power.
Rumble!
Accompanied by the sound of thunder, a blade gang surged toward Tang Song.
Tang Song retreated while flicking his golden needles outward.
Flutter! Flutter!
The golden needles flapped their wings violently and flew straight at the Heavenly Mountain Demon.
“Damn it! Golden needles!”
Cursing, the Heavenly Mountain Demon swung his blade again.
Rumble! Rumble!
His blade gang crashed against the needles, but they simply shook their wings and continued forward, riding the very energy of his attack and climbing straight toward him.
The Heavenly Mountain Demon spat another curse.
“Filthy golden needles!”
This was precisely why the golden needles were so terrifying.
They rode incoming energy and traveled against it. Whether blade qi or palm force, any surge of power became a path they could follow upward.
That was the true horror of the golden needles.
Swearing furiously, the Heavenly Mountain Demon twisted his body to dodge the needles riding his own energy.
But that was not the end. Where the needles passed, a cloud of purple poison powder scattered into the air.
The golden needles were bad enough, but the Golden Elixir Poison was worse. Warriors circulated internal energy through breathing.
Because of that poison, even breathing became dangerous. And on top of that…
Papapat!
The Heavenly Mountain Demon jerked his head sideways.
Several black hair needles whistled past, slicing through the strands of his hair.
Even Tang Mi-ryeong’s hidden weapons continued to target every opening he showed.
He glanced around.
The Tang Family experts had formed a wide circle around him and were scattering fine powder into the air.
Now that the demonic heads they had been fighting had fled, every Tang warrior was converging on the Heavenly Mountain Demon.
His face contorted. The Tang Family was spreading poison all around him.
Worse, the radius of the poison cloud was steadily shrinking, tightening the noose.
I must escape.
Hidden weapons could be blocked or destroyed. Poison was different.
Once they began releasing toxins that could kill with the slightest touch, there would be no time left to run.
He had to break free before the encirclement of poison was complete.
“Hah!”
The Heavenly Mountain Demon smashed aside the incoming golden needles with a powerful blade gang and shot backward.
“Old man! You got lucky!”
Watching the Heavenly Mountain Demon flee in the only direction without Tang Family experts, Tang Song let out a heavy breath and collapsed where he stood.
Holding off a Peak expert who had reached the extreme of that realm had been too much for him.
Had it not been for the golden needles and the Golden Elixir Poison, Tang Song might already have lost his life.
Seeing Tang Song gasping and sitting down, the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s face twisted with rage.
“You bastard! You tricked me!”
The man who had looked so relaxed had collapsed the moment he stepped away.
Even so, he could not afford to stop running. Once the encirclement finished forming, the poison trap would be complete.
He had to escape before then.
Pouring every ounce of strength into his movement, the Heavenly Mountain Demon glared back at the Tang Family estate.
“Hahaha! That’s enough for today! We’ll meet again!”
At the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s lion roar, Tang Mi-ryeong moved her hands.
Several hidden weapons shot forward like lightning.
Papapat!
Confusion flashed across the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s face.
Why?
The hidden weapons Tang Mi-ryeong had thrown were aimed nowhere near him.
Just as doubt and unease crossed his features, the weapons embedded themselves in the ground.
And then…
Hiss!
A strange small sound rang out as the weapons exploded in sparks.
Boom! Boom-boom!
Starting from the points of impact, green and purple flames erupted across the surrounding area.
“This…”
The flames surged upward and instantly engulfed the Heavenly Mountain Demon.
Whoosh!
Unable to stop his forward momentum, the Heavenly Mountain Demon’s body tore straight through the wall of fire.
The sight of him after emerging was horrific. The flesh across his entire body was melting. Even his eyelids and lips had dissolved, exposing raw tissue beneath.
Looking like a blood-soaked monster, the Heavenly Mountain Demon staggered forward.
Stagger. Stagger.
Having escaped the flames, he looked down at his own hands.
Staring at the grotesque, melted skin, the Heavenly Mountain Demon muttered.
“Heh… Twin Flower Poison Powder… I only ever heard rumors of it.”
He watched the Tang Family experts approaching.
“Why… now?”
Why detonate the trap now, instead of when they had all been gathered together?
If they had triggered it while the demonic heads were still clustered, the Tang Family would not have suffered any losses.
At his question, Tang Myung answered.
“Because the place where you gathered had no poison.”
“So you’re saying… there was poison here?”
“Correct.”
Tang Myung swept his gaze across the area surrounding Tang Family Town.
“Did you really think we left this place open for no reason?”
“Hah!”
The Heavenly Mountain Demon laughed loudly.
“Did the others avoid the trap?”
Looking at the fleeing demonic heads, Tang Myung replied.
“If I had used the trap on them, you would have escaped.”
“Hahaha! You let nine Peak demonic heads go just to catch me?”
“Because you were the dangerous one.”
At Tang Myung’s words, the Heavenly Mountain Demon stared at him, then gave a weak chuckle.
“In the Tang Family… what’s truly terrifying isn’t the poison or the hidden weapons… it’s that cold heart of yours.”
The Heavenly Mountain Demon vomited blood and collapsed on the spot.
Tang Myung turned away from the fallen man. In the distance, he could see the gathered warriors of the various sects.
He raised his voice, pouring internal energy into it.
“Today, every sect that dared invade our family will be completely exterminated!”
“Completely exterminated!”
“Completely exterminated!”
As the Tang Family warriors echoed his cry, Tang Myung shouted once more toward the gathered forces.
“Grace tenfold!”
“Grudge a hundredfold!”
“Grace tenfold!”
“Grudge a hundredfold!”
The lion roars of the Tang Family carried such bitter hatred and murderous intent that the warriors of the other sects flinched and began retreating.
The sheer depth of resentment and killing aura behind those voices was enough to inspire terror.
Because that hatred and bloodlust would soon be aimed at them.